James Swartz

"Those who perpetuate the belief that ego transformation is enlightenment do spiritual culture a disservice. Additionally, the reverence and respect accorded enlightened beings is also undeserved because enlightenment is nothing other than a re-discovery of something that was already known. When I wake up I don’t become somebody else, I simply trade the idea of myself as a dreamer for the idea of myself as a waker. In fact, the waker and the dreamer are the same person, but seem to be separate entities because of their association with the state of consciousness in which they find themselves at the moment."
"Real gurus don’t bust ego
One of the sadistic pleasures available to those who attend satsang is observing a guru ‘bust’ ego…as long as it isn’t one’s own. Gurus who bust ego are not real gurus. A real guru is someone who reveals the truth of one’s real nature. When your real nature is revealed you can ‘bust’ your own ego…or not. The whole ego busting idea is actually a complete wash spiritually because enlightenment has nothing to do with the presence or absence of ego. When one knows that one is the Self one sees that the very notion of an ego is fiction…and therefore there is nothing to bust. A guru who busts ego is actually reinforcing the belief in the reality of ego…which shows how unenlightened he or she is. There is actually only one guru…the Self…and it is not troubled by ego. So if you find a guru busting ego it is safe to assume that he or she is not a real guru. And if you find that you enjoy ego busting you are not a real seeker. "